Lk 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,

and when the demon had gone out,

the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.

Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,

he drives out demons.”

Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.

But he knew their thoughts and said to them,

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste

and house will fall against house.

And if Satan is divided against himself,

how will his kingdom stand?

For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.

If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,

by whom do your own people drive them out?

Therefore they will be your judges.

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,

then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,

his possessions are safe.

But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,

he takes away the armor on which he relied

and distributes the spoils.

Whoever is not with me is against me,

and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Today's reflection from Fr. Le, the Parochial Vicar at Holy Family School.

We know based on human experience that the same reality can be viewed in different ways by different people. That seems to be the case in the Gospel of today from St Luke. Jesus with “the finger of God” cured a man who had been possessed by a demon and freed him from his speech impediment. Some were amazed and were in awe and others viewed Jesus’ source of healing differently. They attributed Jesus’ power of healing to Satan who is referred to as Beelzebul the prince of demons. So we have two contrasting responses to the same phenomenon. 

These responses, however, points to the existing reality of the ongoing spiritual warfare between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan in the world. Thus the miraculous healing performed by Jesus on the man clearly indicates that the Kingdom of Satan has been over taken by the power of God.

One may ask, why would people misjudge Jesus and fail to acknowledge the power of God at work in him. Shouldn’t we applause someone whose doing good like healing? Well, Jesus’ miraculous act evidently upsets the status quo and challenged his opposition views and beliefs to the core. Evidently, the power of Beelzebul very much at work that causes them to deny and reject the truth. They prefer their world of darkness to the light of God. And for them to call good evil is a clear sign of their spiritual blindness. They resent change but at the same time troubled by what they have witnessed.

What lessons can we draw from this experience? I suppose it would be helpful to ask ourselves, “How do we view reality”? Are we attuned to the presence of the ‘finger of God’? If not why? Do we recognize the many ways that God continues to be at work in our world or do we dismiss the signs of God’s presence in some kind of cynical and negative way? Are we alert to the signs of new life in each other, in our family, our world, in our church, or do we look out on everything with a kind of a skeptical eye? Yes, the disappointments of life can sometimes leave us very reluctant to acknowledge the traces of God’s life-giving presence all around us.  

 Yes, we are all prone to misreading situations and people. Perhaps we are working out of fear, prejudices or may be because our sinful ways that blind and prevent us from acknowledging and accepting the truth of God working in and through others.

This special time of lent invites and encourages us to embark on a journey of repentance to examine our inner self. Let us ask God for the grace to reveal and identify aspects of our life that are obstacles that prevent us to see and appreciate God’s power at work and the courage to offer them for healing. We all need healing. This can be done through the sacrament of Reconciliation, being prayed over by prayer group or through spiritual Counseling. Secondly, to grow more in openness to the many ways that the kingdom of God is overtaking us and at work among us.

Having said that we know the ultimate war has been won by Jesus Christ our Savior on the Cross, through his passion, death and resurrection but apparently the little warfare continues daily in our lives. We experience both the will to good and the ongoing temptations to do evil. The question is, to which Kingdom we truly worship and allow to rule our lives?

Please click play to join us in our prayer for today, led by 8th grade students from Holy Family School.